The Changing Face of the Railroad Investor

This article describes the new investors in the railroads. Dividend yields have fallen to a very modest one to one-and-a-half percent, yet Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway has recently acquired a stake in Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern. A private equity firm, Fortress Investments, has entered with takeovers of Rail-America and Florida East Coast over the past year. Activist shareholders began building stakes in late 2006 and early 2007, and are pressing management teams to unlock value from the rail franchises in the form of share repurchases, asset divestitures, or shifts in capital or operating structures. The author, an equity researcher, suggests some of these activist shareholders may be pushing too hard for greater profits, which could backfire with re-regulation.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/1586268
• Authors:
  • Seidl, Jason H
• Publication Date: 2007-7

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Photos;
• Pagination: pp 20-21
• Serial:
  • Railway Age
  • Volume: 208
  • Issue Number: 7
  • Publisher: Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation
  • ISSN: 0033-8826
  • Serial URL: http://www.railwayage.com

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Economic analysis; Investments; Ownership; Railroads
• Subject Areas: Economics; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01054459
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: UC Berkeley Transportation Library
• Files: BTRIS, TRIS
• Created Date: Jul 30 2007 8:30AM